Reading Eagle: Susan L. Angstadt |
James H. and Geraldine "Geri" Karper of Robeson Township used to have Eagles season tickets when their son was in college. Now their son's step-daughter Shelby is dating Falcons guard Wes Schweitzer and they are switching allegiance for the game this year.

Courtesy of Geri Karper |
Falcons guard Wes Schweitzer and his girlfirend, Shelby Soladar, whose grandparents Jim and Geri Karper are dropping their Eagles allegiance this year to root for Schweitzer's team.

Longtime Eagles fans put family before football

A Robeson Township couple is jumping out of the Eagles' nest and into the Falcons' for this year's playoff game.

Long-time Philadelphia Eagles fans James H. and Geraldine Karper were Eagles season-ticket holders for two years in the early 1970s. They were big fans of quarterback Roman Gabriel. The Karpers gave up the tickets after an unpleasant experience in 1974 when they attended a preseason game and striking players hurled insults at them.

Their son, James P., who was attending college at the time, also was turned off. The family continued to root for the team, however.

Their son, a Wyomissing High and Lehigh University grad, had moved to California more than a decade ago when the Glidden plant in Reading, where he worked in management, was rumored to be closing. He married a woman who had two children and now lives in Calabasas. His stepdaughter, Shelby Soladar, went to San Jose State University, where she met and fell in love with football player Wes Schweitzer.

The Karpers' fidelity to the Eagles started to wane in 2016 when Schweitzer, a 6-foot 5-inch, 314-pounder, was taken in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. They were showered with Falcons' memorabilia.

Soladar, 25, and Schweitzer, 24, live together in Atlanta, and in 2017 Schweitzer won a starting position at right guard.

"I met him, and he's a smart, smart guy," Geri Karper said. "After he's done in the NFL, he wants to get a Ph.D."

Geri and James, 78, will be going to Atlanta soon to watch Soladar and Schweitzer's dog.

So in the playoff game this year, they are putting family first and rooting for their granddaughter's boyfriend.